Los Amigos Wins Season-Opening Independence Cup; Marc Ganzi Named MVP
The season-opening Independence Cup lived up to expectations Sunday at McClure River Ranch.
By Sharon Robb Photos by Candace Ferreira
After three competitive round robin games, Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Marc Ganzi, Gonzalito Pieres, Tomacho Pieres) won the coveted trophy for the first time in team history.
Los Amigos defeated Casablanca (Alejandra Foster, Grant Ganzi, Torito Ruiz, Nic Roldan), 6-2, to clinch the victory on goal differential in the third and final round robin game.
In earlier games, Los Amigos rallied to tie NetJets (Melissa Ganzi, Nacho Figueras, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini), 5-5, in the opening three chukkers. NetJets defeated Casablanca, 6-3, in the second game.
Marc Ganzi, who scored four goals in three chukkers including two full field runs and two in the final chukker, was named Most Valuable Player.
“The match that was really interesting was the first one for us,” Foster said. “We were down three goals (5-2) and we ended up coming back and we tied it. That was the one that was really tough. If we hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have been able to win.”
In the third and decisive game, Los Amigos jumped out to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals from Foster in the opening chukker and never trailed. With great passing team work from Gonzalito and Tomacho Pieres, Foster and Ganzi took turns scoring in the second and third chukkers for 2-1 leads in each chukker.
Foster, who has been tuning up in practice games during the spring in El Paso, Tex., has played with all three of his teammates in past summer tournaments.
“I think we all felt pretty good,” Foster said. “We played a little bit this spring trying to get ready so I think we are probably a little more ready than we usually are. It was fun. My wife was on the other side so I couldn’t celebrate too much. We always have good-natured fun with each other out there.
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Los Amigos Wins Season-Opening Independence Cup; Marc Ganzi Named MVP — Aspen Valley Polo Club
